Generally, to form a semiconductor device such as an integrated circuit, a silicon wafer is initially prepared and a series of processes such as etching, depositing, coating, plating, patterning, and the like are performed in order to manufacture structures on the semiconductor wafer as well as forming interconnections between the structures once the structures are formed. These processes may be utilized to form both conductive paths (e.g., form metals and other conductive materials) and non-conductive regions (e.g., form dielectric materials) in order to separate and isolate the conductive paths from each other so that short circuits and other problems do not form during manufacture or operation of the semiconductor device. All of these processes, along with other processes, may be used to finalize the semiconductor device for use by a consumer.
As some of these processes have grown in popularity for the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, extensive research has been performed to find ways to enhance these processes for the ultimate goal of scaling down the semiconductor devices even further. One such enhancement that has been utilized is the use of plasma in deposition and etching processes. The plasma is especially useful in the enhancement of chemical and physical reactions that occur during the deposition and etching processes. For example, the plasma may be used to help initiate chemical reactions, or may be used to control the speed of the desired chemical or physical reactions. By enhancing the reactions, the processes may be made to be more efficient, and by making the overall processes more efficient, the overall process for making the semiconductor device may also be made to be more efficient.
However, the use of plasma in processes such as deposition and etching, while helping in some respects, also creates problems and challenges with its use. These problems need to be addressed to make the use of plasma within these processes even more efficient.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.